In computer systems, garbage collection is the systematic recovery of pooled computer storage that is being used by a program when that program no longer needs the storage. By performing garbage collection on an as-needed basis, the computer system can free the storage for use by other programs (or processes within a given program). Additionally, by ensuring that a program using increasing amounts of pooled storage does not reach its quota, garbage collection can help ensure that programs executing on computer systems have the necessary memory resources to execute efficiently.
The description above is presented as a general overview of related art in this field and should not be construed as an admission that any of the information it contains constitutes prior art against the present patent application.